Fastener for roofing and the like



Aug` 1, 1950 L. K. LocKwooD FASTENER FOR ROOF'ING AND THE LIKE Filed April 23, 1945 /OVEELAP OVfPlA/D INVENTOR KZCCWOO-Q/ A TTOENEY w, m m, .o ,2 a

O Z W 0. b4 9 3/ Patented Aug. l, 1950 UNITED STATE s. PATENT OFFICE EAsTENER FonRooFING AND THE LIKE Lloyd K. Lockwood, Saginaw, Mich.

Application April 23, 1945, sorialNo. 589,844'

6 Claims. (Cl. 10S-33) This invention relates to fasteners for securv handling, and laying commercial roofing of many` types including rool rooting,` individual shingles,

and strip shingles. For convenience such roofing elements will be referred` to as shingles Another object is to provide a fastener of the class described having a body portion so pre-` 1 formed that when placed on a shingle and struck with airoofers hammer it shall fly upat one end, assuming a position in which it serves as an alinement gage for the next course of roofing, and from which it can be bentdown nearly flatwise over the top face of an overlap shingle, either byhand or with a hammer. When thus bent down it can be set so as to clinch together the upper `edge of an underlap shingle and the lower edge of an overlap shingle.

`Another object is to provide a roofing fastener that can be readily applied to the shingles or roll unitslat the shingle mill so as to be ready for clinching when the shingle is put in place on the sheathing. p l i i With the foregoing and certain other objects in view which will appear later in the specifications, my invention comprises novel features of construction and combinations of parts described and claimed herein, which will be better understood in the course of the following detailed description, reference being had to the accom panyng `drawings which form `a part ofthe specifications and by which preferred typical embodiments are illustrated.

It will be understood that various modications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a fastener embodyy on plane 2a,` 2a.,

at 4a.

One or another Figs. 4, 5, and 6 lare'diagi'arnmatic detail views in side elevation, showing three modified `forms of the deformable hump features of my invention; 1 H y. s

Fig. 7 is a `fragmentary detail showing in plan view a modiedhump: structure;

Fig. 8 is a sideview of the part shown in .ig.'7;` i. T

Fig. 9 is a side. View similar to Fig. 1, but provided with `a modified form of swivel connection to the underlap shingle i Fig. 10 is aside View of an`alternative embodiment of myinvention; and i Fig. llis a fragmentary top view of the hoo portion of the device illustrated in Fig. 10.`

The fastener shown v'inFigl comprises anarrowl strip Vof metall which lis characterized by being capable of flexing and `being snapped at one end into a`n-uprightzposition, as in Fig. 2, by a mediumv strike'of .a roofing `hammer delivered` downwardly. approximately in the direction of the upper arrow, Fig; l. From that position it can be-b'entzto extend over the top face of the overlapeithenbyhand or by a hammer strike, It then flattened down: by a final blow of the hammer delivered` in fthe `directionindicated by the arrow,'Fig.y3.

The strip or elongated body may be oblongin cross-sectional shape, as shown in Fig. 2a, although for some purposes it is preferably a round rod or a 'pieo'eofwire or `the like, as shown in Figs. 7, 8, 10, and 11.` "i

As shown at the right `in`Fig.: 1 the fastener may have its endfformed .with 'an underneath hook-like portion-lythat "terminates in an upwardly directed drive point 2. `The other free end of the strip `isfprovided with a prong 3. Parts 2 and 3 areterrrledV end Afastening devices.

The strip fisbentintermediate-its ends` to present `a laterallyprojecting displaceabl'e or deformable hump-.like'flexure All, 4a, 5, 6. In Fig..1 it is arched upwardly, but Fig. 4 shows the hump inverted. Fig. 5 shows a hump proportionately taller and also an4 oset `1 `.that mayV also be `of increased height. Fig. 6 shows a further modified form, being a at-toppedihump reinforced `.of Asuch'alternative forms may be preferable forcertainsituations, but the general types represented by Fig.` l and Fig. 10 are `applicable to4 almostallkinds of shingle laying.

A characteristic "feature is that the initial relationship of the principal longitudinal elements,

`as 8, 9, is such that theylare disposed throughl out their respectiva-lengths so as to lie insub- .stantially a common; plane A@corresponding to p a face of a piece of roofing, such as, for example, an underlap shingle.

Referring now to Fig. l, the portion 5 of hump 4 may be higher than the part 6, thereby presenting a jog or offset 1 between adjacent ends of the two principal longitudinal parts 8 and 9. Offset 'I has the effect of improving the abrupt snapping-up lever action, although for some applications it may be omitted, leavingr the two straight lengths 8, 9 of the fastener in alinement with each other. This modified alinement arrangement is illustrated in the fragmentary View Fig. 8.

A longitudinal stiffener, such as embossed rib I0, may be provided along the portion 8 of the strip, the purpose of which is to stiften the part 8 so it can be fastened down by a nail ila, Fig. 2, to the underlap and to the sheathing withoutlikelihood of buckling. Another purpose of rib I is to compel the flattening effect on hump 4, alluded to above, to take place from point to point 6, Fig. 1, the flattened part being an unreinforced portion of the strip and therefore more easily bendable than the parts S and 9.

A rib Il likewise may be provided on the part 9, for the purpose of keeping it straight while being snapped into upright position, Fig. 2, and also while being clinched down upon the overlap.

In Fig. 1 I have shown my device as it appears before its right-hand end has been secured to the margin of the underlap. In Figs. 2 and 3 it is shown after being clinched, the drive point 2 of the hook having been pressed into the underlap. However, in Fig. 9 I have shown an alternative means for fastening the right-hand end by means of a rivet I2 that pivotally secures the member 8 to the upper edge of the underlap so as to permit the fastener to be swung around into the dotted line position 8b. This pivotal mounting of the fastener on the underlap shingle is Primarily for convenience in shipping.

Roofing units such as individual shingles, strip shingles, or roll roofing, may be equipped with my fasteners at the shingle mill. They can bey packed and shipped as pre-assembled shingleand-fastener units ready'to be put into place on the sheathing with a minimum of effort by the roofer. f

To further save labor I have devised a shingle unit especially adapted for use with this fastener. Three shingles are built up into a single unit according to the Dutch-lap method, wherein the side edges of the three shingles overlap and are cemented together so the assembly can be laid as a single piece.

With such a strip shingle unit a fastener such as shown in Figs. 1 or 10v can be applied to the underlap edge of each shingle and the resultant assemblies, each consisting of a plurality of shingles with fasteners attached, can `be packed in bundles which occupy substantially the same amount of space as would be required for the shingles without any fasteners.

If shipped in bulk, the fasteners themselves can not tangle to any serious extent under the usual conditions of shipping and handling. This will be apparent upon inspection of Fig. 1, where it is seen that the fastener is substantially an elongate piece, lying substantially in a plane.

Referring now to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the principal longitudinal part of the strip has been flattened down upon the upper face of the underlap, being held by a roofing nail driven through the underlap and into the sheathing. The head of `the nail holds down the portion 8,

the end longitudinal part 9 having been raised up from its initial flatwise position, Fig. 1, and brought abruptly to the upstanding gauging position, shown by full lines in Fig. 2, by the driving of the nail and by a strike of the roofers hammer in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. l.

From Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the driving of the nail eliminates the offset 1 by bringing the part 8 down tightly onto the top face of the shingle. Hump `A upon being struck by the hammer preferably after the nail has been driven, straightens out along the top face of the underlap, causing the angular part 6 to bring the straight portion 9 up into an upstanding gauging position shown in Fig. 2.

The lower portion 9a of the member 9 thereupon presents a stop gage or wall against which the edge I3 of the overlap portion of the next upper course can be abutted, with the result that the upper course of shingles is thereby accurately alined with the upper edge of the lower course.

In Fig. 2 I have shown the overlap as being one shingle in thickness and in Fig. 3 the overlap is shown as of double thickness. The same fastener may be employed in either case, depending upon what type of roofing is being laid.

The part 9a adjacent the shingle edge l3,'being more easily bent than the stiffer parts 8 and 9, is adapted to be bent so as to fit snugly around the end margin of the overlap as shown in Fig. 3, whether the overlap be single or double.

In Figs. 1 to 3, the strip from which the fastener is made is of flat cross-sectional shape; whereas in Figs. 7 to `l1, inclusive, it is of round or oval shape, which is preferable in some instances.

Round wire sections are usually less expensive than flat sections and are more easily fabricated in automatic forming machines. Moreover, in Figs. 7 and 8 I have illustrated the hump of a fastener made of round wire wherein the crosssection is weakened by flattening at those places where maximum bending effect is desired, as kat 9b; so that no extra reinforcing rib is required on the straight parts 8 and 9 of the fastener.

Referring to the wire type of fastener illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11, rolling or rocking when the hump is struck with a hammer is prevented by lateral offsets Ill and l5 that are provided near the right-hand end of the fastener. Their arrangement is such that when the drive point 2b is forced into the under side of the underlap the members lll, I5 keep the fastener steady while the hump is being deformed by the hammer blow, and likewise while the prong 3 is being swung over the top face of the overlap and clinched to it, in the manner already explained with reference to Figs. 2 and 3.

In Fig. 10 the part Sb is of reduced thickness so it will bend easily around'the end of the overlap shingles, the same as in Fig. 3.

Heretofore roofing fasteners have been offered which were in the form of the letters V or Z, but they were not generally adopted by the trade because of the space they occupied when shipped in bulk, and had a tendency to tangle with each other.

Moreover, such fasteners were difficult to nail down onto the top face of the underlap because their prong arms were in the way ofthe hammer when driving the nail.

In my present invention there is no difficulty from that source because the part 9 is not folded over the part 8 until after 8 has been nailed down to the sheathing. The roofer can therefore drive 5 the nail without any likelihood of such interference.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A roong fastener comprising an elongated strip of bendable material formed with a hump portion intermediate two straight portions; the end of one of said straight portions having a driving point, the other straight portion having means shaped for attachment to the edge of a piece of roofing material, a part of the hump portion being bendable and adapted to be ilattened onto the roofing by the usual strike of a roofers harnmer; another part of the hump being joined angularly to the first-mentioned straight portion and being less easily flexible, for the purposes set forth.

2. A roong fastener structure substantially as claimed in claim 1 wherein such other straight portion is, at its place of juncture with said hump, offset laterally in relation to said angularly joined portion.

3. A structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said elongated strip is of substantially flat cross-sectional shape, and the said two straight portions thereof are rendered stiller than the bendable portion of the hump by longitudinal ribs provided thereon.

4. A structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said elongated strip is of substantially round cross-sectional shape and the said hump portion thereof is rendered more bendable than the straight portions by being appropriately flattened.

5. A roong fastener' comprising an elongated strip of flexible material presenting at one end an upwardly projecting prong; the other end of the strip having fastening means for its attachment to a shingle a deformable hump-like flexure intermediate the ends of the strip, projecting laterally from the strip and including an angular portion connecting the said flexure with said first-mentioned end portion of the strip.

5. A structure as set forth in claim 5 wherein said deformable hump-like ilexure intermediate the ends of the strip and projecting laterally therefrom, includes a portion that is more easily bendable than other portions of said strip.

LLOYD K. LOCKWOOD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 876,843 Roever Jan. 1.4, 1908 984,860 Smith Feb. 21, 1911 2,060,739 Maddux Nov. 10, 1936 

